Regeneration of fluidized iron oxide catalyst



Patented Dec. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE 2,620,313 I V maintain-(ism FLUIDIZ'ED mos OXIDE j CATALYST 3 William Odell, New York, N. Y., assignoi', Standard Oil lleyelopment Company, a corporation of Dela are itration Jane '1, 1949,, Serial in. 95,517

method-of reconditioning finely divided catalysts having a high activity-and sel tyipr the for;- mation of' normallyliquid h ocarbons in thie catalytic cpnversionlof carbon monoxide with hydrogen employing these-called fluid solids technique. M U I lhe synthetic production of liquid hydrocarbons from gas mixtures containing various p'roportions of carbon monoxide and hydrogen is already known and numerous catalysts usually containing an iron group metal; have been described Which are specifically active in promoting the desired reactions at certain preferred operating conditions. For example, cobalt supported on an inert carrier is used when relatively low pressures (atmospheric to about 5 atmospheres) and low temperatures (about 375-425 F.) are applied in the manufacture of a substantially saturated hydrocarbon product while at the higher temperatures (about 450-750 F.) and higher pressures (about5-25 atmospheres and higher) required for the production of unsaturated and branched chain products of high antiknock value, iron type catalyst-s are more suitable.

In both cases, the reaction is strongly exothermic and the utility of the catalyst declines steadily in the course of the reaction chiefly due to the deposition of non-volatile conversion products such as carbon, paraffin wax, and the like, on the catalyst, and to the gradual conversion of the metallic catalyst to the oxidized state.

The extremely exothermic character and high temperature sensitivity of the synthesis reaction and the relatively rapid catalyst deactivation had led, in recent years, to the application of the socalled fluid solids technique wherein the synthesis gas is contacted with a turbulent bed of finely divided catalyst fluidized by the gaseous reactants and products. This technique permits continuous catalyst replacement and greatly improved heat dissipation and temperature control.

However, the adaptation of the hydrocarbon synthesis to the fluid solids technique has encountered serious difiiculties, particularly with respect to catalyst deposits and their detrimental effects on the fluidization characteristics and mechanical strength of the catalyst.

As stated above, one of the most important modifications of the'hydrocarbo'n synthesis .requires the usev of iron type catalysts. These ..catalysts are the outstanding representatives of is Claims. (01. ass-41%) yst cycle; which; of c sl 0,01

a group of catalysts Which'combine a hi'gh syn.- thesizing activity and selectivity toward normally liquid products with a strong-tendency, to earbonize during the synthesisreaction, that i's to form fixed carbon or cokerlike deposits on' the catalyst which can'not "be readily removed by conventional methods of synthesis catalyst regeneration sue'has extraction, steam-treating or thelike. I I l 1 r a 7 These carbon deposits, when allowed to accumulate, weaken the catalyst structure, probably due to carbide formation which leads to rapid catalyst disintegration, particularly in fluid operation. The reduction of the true density of the cata-lyst resulting from its high content of lowdensity carbon" coupled with the rapid disintegration of the catalyst particles causes the fluidized catalyst bed to expand,'thereby reducing its concentration of catalystand ultimately resultmg in the loss of the catalyst bed-because it becomes impossible to hold the catalyst in a. dense phase at otherwise s'iifiilar-fllli'di'zatioli' conditions. With these changes i'n" fluid bed characteristics, the heat transfer from and throughout the bed decreases markedly favoring further carbonization and accelerating'the deterioration of the fluidity characteristics of thebed.

I'hese diificultiesmay be overcome; quite generally," by subjecting the carboni'zed'catalystcontinuously or intermittently tb 'a'. regenerating treatment by which carbon is' burnt off. the catalyst with the aid of-an'ox'i'dizing gas. However, oxi'dative regeneration of the catalyst if not carefully controlled withresp'ectto the oxidation conditions may frequently padre an undesirable over-oxidation of the iron component of the catalyst. In addition, such catalystfline's of undesirably small particle size as haveb'ee i formed prior to rege 1ierati on are not restored to the eil ealre d ly f idie r generation treatment; particularly eu 'inf i d t p re era ed I'Ih i may, thereiore, continue toiajccumulate and eventually nter re wit an. ef i nt easier f. t pr c s un ss theva d ca ded from th'lc a- ,utes an appreciablefiosso'f yaluable ateria1.-, Closely allied to the, obl'e'm of catalyst inactivation by depositioi 0 carbon an wax idrat on isthe r iat'diiflr'obiem' or catalyst oxidation. .lisa resultof tr es i t he i's'rab "wit r n qatalr t qeam H2O* inabcordancewiththe reactions: c

With the feed compositions usually employed in the synthesis reaction, the ratio of hydrogen to CO consumed is considerably less than the ratio of these components present in the fresh feed and as a result, low conversions of the synthesis gas to useful products occurs. This is overcome by recycling tail gas, the CO2 present therein and formed as a result of reaction (2) reacting with the H2 in the reactor to form CO and H20. This results in increased H2 consumption, but also this tends to increase the concentration of oxidizing gases in the reactor, and thus promotes catalyst oxidation.

Highly reduced catalysts tend to produce less wax in the synthesis reactor, thus permitting operations relatively free of fluidization difiiculties and maintenance catalysts of high activity level. When the oxygen content of the catalyst rises above about wax formation is rapid,

and catalyst inactivation as well as fluidization difficulties ensue.

, The present invention, which comprises reducing the partially oxidized catalyst in a reducing zone in the presence of a bed of highly heated incandescent carbonaceous solids, overcomes the aforementioned difl'iculties associated with carbonaceous solid deposit and catalyst oxidation, and affords various additional advantages. These advantages, the nature of the invention, and the manner in which it is carried out will be fully understood from the following description thereof read with reference to the accompanying drawing.

In accordance with the present invention, spent and contaminated catalyst is circulated hot from the reactor to a stripping chamber with tail gas, and is circulated from the stripper to a catalyst treater with sufiicient air to raise the temperature thereof to above 1100 F., and is caused to pass downwardly therein through a bed of incandescent carbon confined as an upper layer in a fluidized bed, the thus circulated catalyst passing down to the lower layer of said bed, meanwhile passing a hot gas stream initially containing a strongly reducing gas, such as 80% CO or 90% H2 or a mixture of these, or a gas containing CO and H2 which is initially substantially free of CO2 and H20, up through the bed at a fiuidizing velocity and withdrawing the thus treated catalyst, rapidly cooling the same preferably below 300 F. with, and. simultaneously heating, the said strongly reducing gas and re turning it to the reactor.

Prior and heretofore it has been proposed to regenerate spent iron synthesis catalyst at elevated temperatures in the presence of a reducing gas in a fluid solids regenerator. Such processes suffer the disadvantage that the reducing gas after passage through the regenerator is not suitable for further employment in either the synthesis reaction or as recycle to the reactor, because of the H and CO2 formed as a result of the reduction process. Without elaborate puriflcation and scrubbing, recycling this spent reducing gas would re-oxidize the catalyst in the regenerator or the reactor. However, in accordance with the present invention, wherein the catalyst to be regenerated flows downward through a bed of fluidized hot carbonaceous solids, and wherein a stream of reducing gas fluidizes the solids as well as reduces the spent catalyst initially in the form of F8304, the CO2 and H20 resulting from the reduction is largely reacted with the carbon in the upper layer of said bed to form CO and H2, and thus the gas stream is available for either recycling to the regenerator or passage to the reactor as part of the synthesis gas feed.

Having set forth its objects and general nature, the invention will best be understood from the more detailed description hereinafter in which reference will be made to the accompanying drawing which illustrates diagrammatically a system suitable for carrying out a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawing, the system illustrated therein essentially comprises a synthesis reactor I, and a reduction reactor I4, whose functions and cooperation will be forthwith explained.

In operation, synthesis reactor I contains a dense, turbulent, fluidized mass of iron catalyst such as sintered pyrites ash promoted with about 1.5% of potassium carbonate and having an original particle size of about 20-100 microns, preferably 50-100 microns. Synthesis feed gas containing about 0.8-3 volumes of H2 per volume of CO is supplied from line 3 to reactor I at a suitable synthesis pressure of 5-50 atm., preferably 20-40 atm. The synthesis temperature may be maintained between the appoximate limits of 500-800 F., preferably between about 550 and 700 F., by conventional methods of heat removal (not shown). Details of the operation of fluid synthesis reactors using iron catalysts are well known and need not be further specified here, beyond indicating that the iron catalyst is fluidized in reactor I by gas admitted through line 3 and grid 2, and that the gaseous reaction products are removed through line 4 and valve 5.

As stated before, carbon is deposited on the catalyst in reactor I and in about hours as much as 50 lbs. of carbon may be deposited for each 100 lbs. of catalyst. This will tend to diminish the activity of the catalyst and also cause its physical disintegration so that lines having particle sizes smaller than 20 microns will be formed in excessive quantities. If this condition is not corrected, the density of the catalyst phase will drop rapidly and the entire catalyst will be eventually blown out of reactor I. Furthermore. as a result of the synthesis reaction, the catalyst becomes partially oxidized to FeaOr, further diminishing its activity.

When the oxygen content of the catalyst within reactor I is above, say 10%, or when the fines, carbon, and wax accumulation has reached a stage where maintenance of a dense fluidized bed of catalyst becomes difficult, catalyst is withdrawn downwardly at a controlled rate from reactor I through ofitake 6 and valve 7, and is conducted in the presence of air or other oxidizing gas upwardly through conduit 8, the air being introduced through valve 9, and the catalyst is heated to a temperature of about 1100 F. in its travel to stripper I0. The catalyst is conveyed preferably in suspension in a stream of tail gas introduced through line 26, the amount of air introduced through 9 being sufficient to effect significant, chemical change in the catalyst.

The catalyst in stripper I0 is maintained as a dense bed suspension while overhead through line II is Withdrawn the fiuidizing gases. If desired, an auxiliary stripping gas, such as steam, nitrogen, CO2, etc. may be introduced through 31 to aid in stripping the catalyst, and fiuidizing gases may be removed overhead through line I! and sent to the tail gas treating system.

Hot catalyst particles are continually withdrawn from stripper II through line I2 and valve I3 and passed to the upper zone of catalyst regenrator I4. Ailso introduced into the upper per-- tion of treater M through line T is a stream of finely divided carbonaceous solids, such as coke, having a suitable particle size td befluidized by the strongly reducing fluidizirig gas admitted through line ll. These solids are supplied from reservoir 38, and have a particle size within the range of about 60%100 mesh or larger.

A strongly reducing gas from any desired source, such as H2, CO, or a mixture of these, or synthesis gas itself, and having a total H20 and CO2 content less than about 1 0% is introduced as a fiuidizing and reducing gas into treatei' 14 through valve l8 and conduit H and passes upwardly at a Velocity sufficient to maintain the carbonaceous solids in the form or a dense, turbulent, mass corresponding to zone This bed of carbonaceous solids is maintained at a temperature of about 1609" to 1800 F. by means of a combustion supporting fluid, such as. a limited amount of air or oxygen, supplied through 29.

The catalyst particles introduced through line l2 into treater it are likewise fluidized by the reducing gas but, being heavier, pass downwardly countercurrent to the upflowing reducing gas. This countercurrent flow may be further promoted by including packing and/ or bafiles within reactor Hi. The rate of settling of thecatalyst particles is adjusted, by adjusting the fiuidizing gas velocity and the relative size of the catalyst and coke particles and proportion of gas to catalyst, to reduce the oxygen content of the catalyst. preferably to about 3% or less.

The reduced catalyst discharges from the lower portion of treater [4 into a cooling chamber 39 wherein the temperature or the catalyst may be reduced to about 200%400" F. by a spray of benzole, propane, a. volatile hydrocarbon mixture, or a. cool gas introduced through. line 30. The cooled catalyst may then be withdrawn through line 3i and be returned to reactor 1 or, if desired, may be subjected to a grinding and screening process to prevent addition to reactor 1 of any agglomerates that may have formed during the treating process.

The gas stream passing up through treater l4 and counter-current to the settling iron catalyst is partially converted to H110 and/ or CO2 during the reduction of the iron oxide and these gases are in turn reduced by contact with the incandescent fluidized carbon bed rin zone B, and are reduced to CO and H2. The effluent gas leaving the treater l 4 through line [8 passes through heat exchanger l9, ofitake 20, conduit 22, circulating pump 24 and valve 23 to reactor I, wherein it comprises a portion of the feed to that unit. If desired, it may be passed in part from pump "24 through conduit 21 and yalve 28 back into the treater as reducinggas, while excess gas may be bled from the system through valve 2| as'desired. In either case. separation of water or CO2 is not required, thus eiiecting substantial process and equipment savings.

Since CO2 and H20 are not rapidly reduced by carbon at temperatures much below 1650 F., and since iron particles in a fine state of subdivision show tendency to agglomerate at these tempera.- tures, it is desirable when the reducing gas stream is to be recirculated through treater 14, to maintain a higher temperature in the bed of carbon in zone B than when the gas is not to be recycled. This is done by introducing, as indicated, a combustion-supporting fluid through line 29 or otherwise into zone B. The catalyst particles traveling downwardly in the treater are continuously cooled by the rising gas stream. The rate oi flow of the catalyst through the treater and the temperature and rate of fiow of the rising reducing gases are controlled to avoid excessive agglomerationor iron particles. However, catalyst fines produced in reactor I preferably are agglomerated in this process.

The technique of employing an incandescent bed of fluidized carbonaceous solids to regenerate spent iron synthesis catalyst may also be employed in another modification of the invention wherein it is not desired to reduce the catalyst completely to the metal, and wherein it is desired to economize still further in the reducing gases employed. In this modification, a portion of the catalyst iswi-thdrawn from the reactor and is continuouslypassed downwardly through a fluidized mass of fine size carbonaceous solids, as before, but at a temperature range of from about 1400 to 1800 F. The catalysts are exposed to this temperature in contact with the hot carbon for a brief period of time only, while simultaneously a reducing gas such as H2 or CO containing a relatively small amount of steam is passed upwardly through the mass of carbonaceous solids as a fiuidizing agent, thereby simultaneously oxidizing some of the carbon and carbonaceous deposits on the catalyst and partly reducing the catalyst, which reduction occurs on the surface only. The thus treated catalyst is then quenched and returned as before, to the reactor, while the gas generated and passing outof the treater is, as a result of its reaction with the carbon at high temperatures, suitable for recirculation to the treater. By employing very short contact time of the catalyst with the car bon, complete reduction of the iron is avoided and hence agglomeration even at these high tem peratures is minimized While the foregoing specific applications have:

served to illustrate specific applications of the in-- vention, other modifications and applications obvious to those skilled in the art are with-in its scope.

What is claimed is:

1. The process of regenerating spent finely divided iron type hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst which comprises withdrawing spentcatalyst from a hydrooarbonsynthesis reaction zone, conveying said withdrawn catalyst by means of a combustion-suppor'ting gas lift to astripping zone, circulating the catalyst from said stripping zone to a catalyst treatingzo'ne with suificient air to burn contaminating carbon off said catalyst and to raise the temperature or said catalyst to at least 1100 'F., separating-the thus heated catalyst from the gaseous products of combustion, passing said heated catalyst downwardly through a densely fluidized mass of carbonaceous solids confined ina treating zone in a strongly reducing atmosphere at a temperature of about 1600-1800 F., thereby reducing the outer surfaces of the catalyst particles as they pass through said mass, withdrawing hot reduced catalyst particles from said treating zone, withdrawing gaseous fluidizing medium from said zone, cooling said particles by contact with a cool gasiform fluid, and returning the thus treated and cooled catalyst particles to the hydrocarbon synthesis zone.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein a strongly reducing gas selected from a member of the group consisting of H2 and CO is the upfiowing gasiform fiuidizing medium in said catalyst treating zone.

3. The process of claim 2 wherein part of said upflo'wing fluidizing gas stream discharged from said treater is returned thereto as a fluidizing and treating medium.

4. The process of claim 2 wherein said gaseous fluidizing medium withdrawn from said treating zone contains only minor amounts of water and C02.

5. The process of claim 2 wherein said gasiform medium comprises a major proportion of H2 and only a minor proportion of steam and the temperature of the carbonaceous solids fluidized in said treater is above about 1300 F. but below about 1800 F.

6. The continuous process of passing to a stripping zone spent hot iron hydrocarbon synthesis catalyst particles containing carbonaceous deposits on their surfaces while suspended in a gasiform stream containing sufficient oxygen to heat said particles to about 1100 F. by combustion of said carbon, separating the thus heated particles from the fluidizing medium and combustion products, passing said particles to a catalyst reduction zone, passing said particles downwardly at a controlled rate in said zone through a mass of incandescent small size carbonaceous solids confined in said zone as a dense fluidized bed, passing a strongly reducing gaseous stream upwardly through said bed at a velocity adapted to maintain said bed densely fluidized in contact with said catalyst particles and withdrawing and cooling the thus treated catalyst particles.

7. A process for reducing an iron-comprising catalyst comprising passing the catalyst in a fine state of division by settling downwardly through and intermingled with a mass of hot small size carbonaceous solids fluidized as a dense bed in a reaction zone, promoting the reduction of said catalyst at a temperature between about 1400 and 1800 F. by contact with a strongly reducing gas while intimately intermingled with said solids in said zone and withdrawing the thus reduced catalyst, said strongly reducing gas being a member of the group consisting of H2 and CO.

8. A process for reducing an oxidized iron catalyst comprising passing the finely divided catalyst by settling downwardly at a predetermined rate through and in intimate contact with a mass of hot, incandescent, small size carbonaceous solids while said solids are densely fluidized in a reaction zone as a bed with a well-defined top level, promoting chemical reduction on the outer surface only of the particles of said catalyst at a temperature between about 1400 and 1800 F. by contact with a hot, strongly reducing gas while intimately intermingled with said solids in said zone and withdrawing the thus treated catalyst particles from substantially the bottom of said bed, said predetermined rate being that which is suflicient for the reduction of said catalyst particles to occur only on the outer surface thereof, said strongly reducing gas being a member of the group consisting of CO and H2.

9. A process for reducing a finely divided catalyst comprised of oxidized iron comprising contacting said catalyst with small size, incandescent carbonaceous solids, densely fluidizing both said catalyst and said solids while they are confined as a bed in a regeneration zone by an upwardly flowing, hot, strongly reducing gas, thereby reducing said catalyst and withdrawing the thus treated catalyst from substantially the bottom of said bed by so controlling the fluidizing stream velocity that the catalyst particles settle out of said bed, said strongly reducing gas being a member of the group consisting of CO and H2.

10. The continuous process of reducing a finely divided catalyst comprising an oxide of iron comprising fluidizing a mass of hot, small size, incandescent, carbonaceous solids as a dense bed in a regeneration zone by passing a stream of hot, strongly reducing gas upwardly therethrough, simultaneously continuously supplying the catalyst to be treated to substantially the top of said zone, passing it down through the fluidized mass in said zone by settling at a rate adapted to provide the desired amount of reduction on the surfaces only of the particles of said catalyst and withdrawing the thus treated catalyst particles from substantially the bottom of said bed, said strongly reducing gas being a member of the group consisting of H2 and CO.

11. The process of claim 10 in which the carbonaceous solids are at a temperature of the order of about 1400 to 1800 F.

12. The process of claim 10 in which the hot, carbonaceous solids are continuously supplied to said bed at a rate adapted to maintain a substantially uniform bed level in said zone, and in which the catalyst particles are introduced into said bed at a temperature of the order of 1100 F. at a rate equal to the rate of withdrawal of the treated catalyst particles from said bed.

13. The process of claim 10 in which the hot reducing gas initially contains a relatively small amount only of C02 and steam.

WILLIAM W. ODELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,166,207 Clark July 18, 1939 2,321,310 Moore June 8, 1943 2,343,780 Lewis Mar. '7, 1944 2,360,787 Murphree Oct. 17, 1944 2,436,938 Scharmann et a1. Mar. 2, 1948 2,462,861 Gunness Mar. 1, 1949 

1. THE PROCESS OF REGENERATING SPENT FINELY DIVIDED IRON TYPE HYDROCARBON SYNTHESIS CATALYST WHICH COMPRISES WITHDRAWING SPENT CATALYST FROM A HYDROCARBON SYNTHESIS REACTION ZONE, CONVEYING SAID WITHDRAWN CATALYST BY MEANS OF A COMBUSTION-SUPPORTING GAS LIFT TO A STRIPPING ZONE, CIRCULATING THE CATALYST FROM SAID STRIPPING ZONE TO A CATALYST TREATING ZONE WITH SUFFICIENT AIR TO BURN CONTAMINATING CARBON OFF SAID CATALYST AND TO RAISE THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID CATALYST TO AT LEAST 1100* F., SEPARATING THE THUS HEATED CATALYST FROM THE GASEOUS PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION, PASSING SAID HEATED CATALYST DOLWNWARDLY THROUGH A DENSELY FLUIDIZED MASS OF CARBONACEOUS SOLIDS CONFINED IN A TREATING ZONE IN A STRONGLY REDUCING ATMOSPHERE AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 1600*-1800* F., THEREBY REDUCING THE OUTER SURFACES OF THE CATALYST PARTICLES AS THEY PASS THROUGH SAID MASS, WITHDRAWING HOT REDUCED CATALYST PARTICLES FROM SAID TREATING ZONE, WITHDRAWING GASEOUS FLUIDIZING MEDIUM FROM SAID ZONE, COOLING SAID PARTICLES BY CONTACT WITH A COOL GASIFORM FLUID, AND RETURNING THE THUS TREATED AND COOLED CATALYST PARTICLES TO THE HYDROCARBON SYNTHESIS ZONE. 